This question is too slippery to answer for certain. What does one mean, exactly, by "better"? What aspects of "performance" are most important? And to whom? Under what conditions?
In my opinion, there is always a price "sweet spot," below which involves more or less significant performance compromises and above which is past a point of diminishing returns.
I think speakers are important but not necessarily paramount. In my experience just about any decent speaker made by any of a plethora of reputable makers these days, as well as many speakers one might classify as "vintage classics," can almost always be made to sound better with an upgrade in either core electronics or source components. Whereas, upgrading speakers will often make a system sound WORSE, by exposing in greater relief the shortcomings in a mediocre amp/receiver, a crappy cd or record player.
